By Rolf Crocker

How would you like to gain a competitive business advantage?  Further, how would you like to gain that advantage with little or no additional expense to the bottom line?  The January 2005 Book Report recommended a book about the late Col. John Boyd, US Air Force, whom many regard as the greatest military strategist since Sun Tzu.  Col. Boyd railed against the Industrial-Military-Congressional Complex in the Pentagon for wasteful spending.  He would thunder at his audiences during briefings, “People, Ideas, Machines – in that order!”  He recognized that people, then ideas were the greatest assets during war.

So what does all this have to do with Community Associations?  One of his ‘acolytes’ (look it up!), Chet Richards, published a book applying Col. Boyd’s strategies to business.  Again, like the previous book on Boyd, some if it is pretty heavy plowing.  This is not a ‘top ten ways’ type of book.  However, for ‘those who have ears to hear’, it contains valuable information and insight into how strategy correctly applied can give anyone, both personally and professionally, a huge competitive advantage. So here we go!

Certain To Win: The Strategy of John Boyd Applied To Business by Chet Richards (©2004 Xlibris Corporation).  As in my previous review of Boyd, this book is not for the faint of heart – people will either love it or hate it.  Richards takes the overarching strategy of Boyd and distills it down to a business application.  For purposes of relevancy (and brevity), I will highlight only the following concepts taken from Blitzkrieg, Germany’s ‘Lightning War’ of 1940.

During the early phases of World War II, the German Army was able to slice through their opponents on the Western Front with surprising agility against a larger and better equipped force.  Further, the Allies had been preparing for such a conflict since the end of World War I.  How were they able to do it?  Richards discusses the following 4 key attributes of Blitzkrieg which Boyd called “an organizational climate for operational success”:

Mutual Trust (Einheit):  This is Teamwork on a whole different level.  The German word ‘ein’ means ‘one’.  They developed an oneness through training together and shared experiences.  They ‘had each other’s back’.  They didn’t have to look over their shoulder in fear of some political harm, but were able to flow because they trusted each other.  They knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses and learned to compensate and flow.  There was true camaraderie – true ‘esprit de corps’.  This is the foundation for everything else.

Intuitive Skill (Fingerspitzgefuel):  The German word literally means ‘fingertip feel’.  They had an uncanny sense of not only what was happening in battle, but what needed to be done.  And they were able to communicate that throughout their forces with very little said or written.  Why?  See ‘Einheit’ above…

Mission (Auftragstaktik):  Superiors were able to give subordinates orders (missions) with very little detail and know they would be carried out to the letter.  This is based on a couple of things.  First of all, Einheit (see above) is again the key factor.  Secondly,  before an order is given, a discussion ensues between superior and subordinate about the order.  The subordinate has not only the right, but the obligation to question whether they have the resources and the capability to carry it out or whether it is just plain dumb. Once you’ve reached an agreement (auftrag), you carry it out or die trying.  Here is where Einheit is applied – that through Einheit, the superior knows your capability and will not ask you to carry out something outside of your scope.  Further, the subordinate knows that the superior will not order something that the subordinate A) cannot do or B) place them in harm’s way for a foolish reason.  Again, this is only developed through training and shared experiences between superior and subordinate.

Focus and Direction (Schwerpunkt):  Literally, the ‘heavy point’ or emphasis.  What this does is align all components of the organization to a focal point of the specific goal.  This means that, even if someone is tasked with a specific project, they can set that mission aside to support the current effort without fear of reprisal.  They have a ‘harmonization of intent’ that has been brought about through Einheit and can act in accordance with the Spirit of what has to be done and not be penalized for failing to achieve the ‘Letter’ of the task at hand.

So how can you gain a competitive business advantage with little or no cost to the bottom line?  Try applying these concepts to your team and see what happens.  It will cost you time and may cost you some ego, but the end result is success beyond your wildest imagination.  I highly recommend this book. 5 Stars!

For an overview of Col Boyd’s work, please visit http://www.d-n-i.net/index.html.